Thursday, March 1, 2012

Fresh Paint

Hello, and welcome to "Mangling my Manicure." I plan to post information about my manicure after I have worn it for a week. I will include at least two photos of each manicure, one when it is new and (hopefully) beautiful and another photo once I have worn the polish for the full week or until my nails are chipped to the point that I can't look at them anymore.

Let me begin by telling you about the nail products that I will always be using. I wear one coat of Seche Retain. I am very fortunate to have strong nails, but I have never been able to grow them for a long time without a break. I started using Seche Retain last summer on the nail and under the free edge. My nails have become even stronger. There are so many times that I jam or catch a fingernail, feeling sure that it must have cracked, but most of the time the nail is still in great shape with a little chipped polish. The other great thing about Retain is that it is Big 3 free. As i recall, the other two treatments in that Seche line, Rebuild and Recondition may not be able to make that claim. I follow Retain with one coat of Orly Bonder Rubberized basecoat. I don't know if my nails are super oily, but without this basecoat, my polish will sometimes chip the very first day. Finally, I top my polish with INM Out the Door Fast Drying topcoat.

I'm excited to show you my first manicure. On my nails are 2 coats of Revlon Colorstay in Buttercup. This is my first time using any Colorstay polish, but I have been happy with several other Revlon nail enamels. The application of this polish was a little streaky, but it looked much better than I expected after the addition of a topcoat. I did have to add third coats of Buttercup to my thumbs to combat the streakiness. I really love the look of pale yellow polishes, but found that Sinful Nails Unicorn stained my nails pretty badly. I hope that this polish does not stain. I'll get back to you next week and let you know how well my manicure stood up to seed starting for my vegetable garden and other activities.

Before I sign off, I love A England's Dragon that was posted about on the Swatchaholic. Definite lust going on right now. Her photos show it off spectacularly. What colors are making your mouth water right now?

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About Me

A gal who puts her manicure to the test. Gardening, cooking, knitting, and playing with my little daughter can take its toll. I will share the fun I have mangling my manicures.
My current and some old favorite polishes are: OPI Designer de Better, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Revlon Orchid, and Sinful Colors Mint Apple.